Arrangement for insulating a low temperature reservoir

ABSTRACT

An arrangement for insulating a low temperature reservoir includes an outer impervious envelope and an intermediate envelope spaced from both the outer envelope and reservoir. The intermediate envelope is made of panels which are locally supported from the outer envelope.

United States Marquet 1 Sept. 2, 1975 [5 1 ARRANGEMENT FOR INSULATING A LOW 2,181,698 11 1939 Langenberg 52 564 x TEMPERATURE RESERVOIR 2,551,160 5/1951 Rehrig et a1. 52/249 X I 2,942,454 6 1960 Jackson 52 249 [75] Inventor: Andre Marqu t, Ivry s Seme, 2,982,623 5/1961 Johnson 52 249 X France 3,064,317 11/1962 Dobson..... 52/562 x 3,361,284 1/1968 Luka et al.. 52 249 x [73] Asslgnee: (Blgfl'er schmld'Laurem) 3,506,090 4 1970 Bezvat 182/179 x My Suf Seme, France 3,572,000 3/1971 Gustavsson 52 249 X [22] Filed: Man 8 1974 3,772,842 11/1973 Barbera 52 562 x [21] Appl 449,423 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 542,001 8/1922 France 52/562 589,827 7/1947 United Kingdom... 52/563 Forelgn Apphcatwn y Dam 415,941 1910 France 52/562 Mar. 15, 1973 France 73.09264 Primary Examiner-Frank L. Abbott [52 US. (:1. 52/249; 52/406; 52/508; Assistant Examiner Leslie A Braun 52/584? 52/758 D Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Alan H. Levine 51] Int. 01. E04B 1/32; E04B 2/30; E04B 2/40 Field of Search 182/159, 160, 161, 179; 52/249, 406, 405, 407, 508, 562, 509, 646, 584, 758 D, 563 565, 568, 650-652, 655

[5 7] ABSTRACT An arrangement for insulating a low temperature reservoir includes an outer impervious envelope and an intermediate envelope spaced from both the outer envelope and reservoir. The intermediate envelope is made of panels which are locally supported from the outer envelope.

15 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures 'PATENTED 21975 3. 902 290 SHEET 2 [IF 4 H6. 3 FIG. 4

ARRANGEMENT FOR INSULATING A LOW TEMPERATURE RESERVOIR BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the invention This invention relates to the insulation of a storage reservoir for liquids or liquefied gases at low temperature.

2. Description of the prior art Insulating arrangements are known comprising an external envelope containing insulating materials, the envelope surrounding the reservoir.

Insulating arrangements are also known additionally comprising an intermediate envelope between the wall of the reservoir and the external envelope, this intermediate envelope being held at a fixed distance from the external envelope, the space between the intermediate envelope and the external envelope being normally filled with an insulating material in powdered or other particulate form, the intermediate envelope being spaced from the wall of the reservoir so that the assembly can expand or contract in dependence upon the internal and external temperatures and deform according to the state of filling of the reservoir without the wall of the reservoir reacting on the insulating material.

Arrangements are also known in which the intermediate envelope is constituted by panels, these panels being supported on a support structure comprising, for example, an assembly of wires or profiled members.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention there is provided in an insulating arrangement for a reservoir for liquids or liquefied gases at low temperature, an external envelope, an intermediate envelope arranged to lie between the external envelope and the reservoir and spaced from both the external envelope and the reservoir, said intermediate envelope comprising a plurality of panels, each panel being secured to the external envelope by securing means connecting the panel to a region of the external envelope which is located substantially opposite to the panel.

Substantially opposite means that said region is opposite to said panel or opposite to an adjacent panel.

Thus the forces exerted on each panel and particularly its selfweight and the action of the insulating material are resisted by the external envelope in the region of the said panels and the displacements of each panel in relation to the corresponding region of the external envelope are reduced to a minimum. This arrangement particularly avoids any concentration of vertical forces of substance such as may be produced on a support structure and it enables any accumulation of differences in expansion movements and deformations to be avoided which might otherwise be set up between an external envelope and a support structure.

The invention is applicable to any form of reservoir. The reservoir may be spherical, cylindrical with a flat or dished base and with a top which is dished. The exterm. envelope may be of a different shape to that of the reservoir, the intermediate envelope then preferably substantially conforming to the shape of the exter nal envelope.

The invention is also applicable whatever the nature and shape of the panels. The panels may be, for example, of wood. of laminate or of reinforced plastics (in the case of reservoirs intended to contain liquefied combustible or non-combustible gases for example ethylene or nitrogen) or of metal, for example an aluminium alloy (in the case of an oxygen reservoir), and it may be for example plane, or curved, having an unitary, ridged or corrugated surface. The panels may be supported at their peripheries and for example at their corners or any other region of their surface.

Securing means may comprise means which accommodate expansion and deformations caused by the loading of the panels, of the envelope and of the securing means and connections.

The spaces between the panels may be made impervious to the insulating material.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Certain embodiments of insulation arrangements in accordance with the present invention, will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which:

FIGS. 1 and 2 are half sections in a vertical plane of reservoirs provided with an insulation arrangement in accordance with the invention;

FIGS. 3 and 4 are fragmentary elevations of intermediate envelopes respectively of the embodiments of FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of an intermediate envelope of generally spherical form;

FIG. 6 is a vertical section, to an enlarged scale, of mounting means shown in outline in FIG. 2; and

FIG. 7 is a perspective view illustrating a securing device common to a group of panels of one embodiment of intermediate envelope.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, it has been assumed that the reservoir 1 is a cylindrical reservoir with a flat bottom resting; on a foundation 2 with the interposition of an insulating material layer 3 between the bottom of the reservoir and the foundation. Further details of the structure of the reservoir itself will not be given, it being understood that this structure is irrelevant to the details of the present invention.

An external envelope 5, and an intermediate envelope 4 between which is formed an annular section space 6 intended to contain an insulating material (not shown), are concentric with the reservoir 1.

The external envelope 5 is fluid-tight, preferably of steel or of concrete, and is intended to retain a pow dered insulating material and to prevent the penetration of atmospheric air and humidity.

Further details of the structure of this envelope 5 will not be given since it is to be understood that it is likewise irrelevant to the details of the present invention.

The invention concerns essentially the intermediate envelope 4 and means by which this envelope is secured to the external envelope 5.

The intermediate envelope 4- is constituted by a plurality of rectangular plane panels and are disposed in checkerboard fashion. Each is secured to the external envelope 5 by connections which secure any given panel and at least one neighbouring panel of the enve lope.

FIGS. 3 and 4 are front views of a part of the intermediate envelope showing several adjacent panels 7 to 14. The break-line 15 indicates, in FIG. 4, a zone where adjacent corners of adjacent panels 7 to 10 are in juxtaposition and break-line 16 of FIG. 4 indicate areas where the larger sides of adjacent panels 7 and 8 are joined together.

In the embodiment shown, each corner of each panel of the intermediate envelope 4 is connected to the external envelope 5 by a first, substantially horizontal, rigid connection, connecting one corner of the panel to the opposite, internal, face of the external envelope 5 and by a second, inclined, rigid connection connecting the same corner to another region of the external envelope 5, this other region being situated opposite to the top of the panel if it is to form a lower corner or opposite to the top of the adjacent panel placed above if it is to act as an upper corner. the horizontal connection and the inclined connection being substantially coplanar.

A connecting device is shown in FIGS, 6 and 7 which is common to four adjacent corners of four adjacent panels of the intermediate envelope, for example, the panels 7 to 10 of which the adjacent corners are in the region of FIG. 4.

In the embodiment shown, the connecting device comprises a plate 17 folded to shallow V-form to which a bar 19 and a tie 20 are secured, through the intermediary of flange 18 and pins 21 and 22, the other ends of the bar 19 and of the tie 20 being secured to the external envelope through flanges 23 and 24 and pins 25 and 26.

Connection devices within the break-line 16 of the adjacent panels 7 and 8 each comprise a plate 27 bent into shallow \/-shape on which is pivoted a bar 29 through the intermediary of a flange 28 and a pin 30, the other end of this bar 29 being secured to the external envelope 5 through the intermediary of a flange 31 and a pin 32.

The bent plates 17 and 27 are secured to the panels by any appropriate means for the plates 17 are pierced and provided with four bolts 41 to 44, which pass through corresponding apertures 45 to 48 in the corners of the panels 7 to 10. The plates 27 have apertures and these receive bolts 49 and 50 which pass through apertures 51 and 52 of the panels 7 and 8. These bolts have washers, contra-plates and nuts, not shown.

The angle through which the plates 17 and 27 are bent is chosen to provide for the contiguous panels the required relative dispositions so that step-by-step the panels encircle the reservoir.

In the embodiment of FIG. 5, the small squares indicate abutment zones for connections on the panels and it will appear that certain panels are thus supported centrally.

In this Figure the connections have not been shown, their disposition is calculated in each case in order to balance the forces exerted on each panel.

I claim:

1. An insulating enclosure for housing a reservoir, comprising:

a. an external envelope,

b. an intermediate envelope between said external envelope and the reservoir, said envelopes being spaced apart to define between them a space for accommodating insulating material,

c, said intermediate envelope comprising a plurality of panels arranged side-by-side and one above another in a checkerboard pattern, each of said panels having a height which is a small fraction of the height of the insulating enclosure, and each of said panels being unsupported by the panel beneath it, and d. at least two rigid securing means connecting each panel to said external envelope, said securing means being arranged one above the other in a substantially vertical plane, and said securing means being arranged at an acute angle to each other and being connected to their respective panel at two spaced-apart points. 2. An arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the securing means are connected to the corners of at least some of the panels.

3. An arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the securing means are connected to the center of each side of at least some of the panels.

4. An arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the securing means are connected to the center of at least some of the panels.

5. An arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the panels are rectangular.

6. An arrangement according to claim 1 wherein the intermediate envelope is generally cylindrical.

7. An arrangement according to claim 1 wherein the intermediate envelope is at least partially spherical.

8. An arrangement according to claim 1, wherein said securing means comprise a first, substantially horizontal, connection connect ing a lower corner of a given panel to an opposing zone of the external envelope, and I a second, inclined, connection connecting said one corner to a zone of the external envelope lying opposite an upper part of the same panel.

9. An arrangement according to claim 8, wherein each of said first and second connections are common to four adjacent corners of four adjacent panels.

10. And arrangement according to claim 9, wherein the first and second connections comprise a common plate of V-section secured to said four corners, and said first connection further comprises,

a bar, and said second connection further comprises a tie,

both said bar and tie being pivoted to the plate adjacent one end and both said bar and tie being pivoted to the external envelope adjacent their other ends.

11. An arrangement according to claim 10, comprising means securing the common plate to the panels, each said panel having an aperture at the said corner and said securing means and each said common plate having four apertures, said arrangement further comprising bolts passing through respective apertures of the common plate and of the said corners.

12. An arrangement according to claim 1 wherein the securing means comprises a rigid connection connecting the center of one of the longer sides of one of the panels to the external envelope at a zone opposite said longer side, said rigid connection extending substantially horizontally.

13. An arrangement according to claim 12, wherein said rigid connection is common to an adjacent panel.

14. An arrangement according to claim 13 wherein said connection comprises a V-section plate secured to the said panels, and

a bar pivoted to the V-section plate and to the intermediate envelope.

15. An arrangement according to claim 14, wherein said V-section plate and the panel have apertures and the connection further comprises bolts passing through the apertures of the plate and the panels.

l l l l= l 

1. An insulating enclosure for housing a reservoir, comprising: a. an external envelope, b. an intermediate envelope between said external envelope and the reservoir, said envelopes being spaced apart to define between them a space for accommodating insulating material, c. said intermediate envelope comprising a plurality of panels arranged side-by-side and one above another in a checkerboard pattern, each of said panels having a height which is a small fraction of the height of the insulating enclosure, and each of said panels being unsupported by the panel beneath it, and d. at least two rigid securing means connecting each panel to said external envelope, said securing means being arranged one above the other in a substantially vertical plane, and said securing means being arranged at an acute angle to each other and being connected to their respective panel at two spacedapart points.
 2. An arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the securing means are connected to the corners of at least some of the panels.
 3. An arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the securing means are connected to the center of each side of at least some of the panels.
 4. An arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the securing means are connected to the center of at least some of the panels.
 5. An arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the panels are rectangular.
 6. An arrangement according to claim 1 wherein the intermediate envelope is generally cylindrical.
 7. An arrangement according to claim 1 wherein the intermediate Envelope is at least partially spherical.
 8. An arrangement according to claim 1, wherein said securing means comprise a first, substantially horizontal, connection connecting a lower corner of a given panel to an opposing zone of the external envelope, and a second, inclined, connection connecting said one corner to a zone of the external envelope lying opposite an upper part of the same panel.
 9. An arrangement according to claim 8, wherein each of said first and second connections are common to four adjacent corners of four adjacent panels.
 10. And arrangement according to claim 9, wherein the first and second connections comprise a common plate of V-section secured to said four corners, and said first connection further comprises, a bar, and said second connection further comprises a tie, both said bar and tie being pivoted to the plate adjacent one end and both said bar and tie being pivoted to the external envelope adjacent their other ends.
 11. An arrangement according to claim 10, comprising means securing the common plate to the panels, each said panel having an aperture at the said corner and said securing means and each said common plate having four apertures, said arrangement further comprising bolts passing through respective apertures of the common plate and of the said corners.
 12. An arrangement according to claim 1 wherein the securing means comprises a rigid connection connecting the center of one of the longer sides of one of the panels to the external envelope at a zone opposite said longer side, said rigid connection extending substantially horizontally.
 13. An arrangement according to claim 12, wherein said rigid connection is common to an adjacent panel.
 14. An arrangement according to claim 13 wherein said connection comprises a V-section plate secured to the said panels, and a bar pivoted to the V-section plate and to the intermediate envelope.
 15. An arrangement according to claim 14, wherein said V-section plate and the panel have apertures and the connection further comprises bolts passing through the apertures of the plate and the panels. 